We are a non-profit ambulatory vision care centre,
providing surgical procedures, clinical vision care,
education and research. We are affiliated
with University of Toronto’s Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences.

We are a non-profit community care program,
providing on-sight and in-home services
for older adults and adults living with disabilities.
Our goal is to enhance social, intellectual and physical well-being.

June is Seniors' Month

June 16, 2017

Second Mile Club members showcasing their creativity in 1958.

The Second Mile Club was founded in Toronto in 1937. Eunice Dyke, a pioneer in Ontario health care, created the club to focus on the needs of older adults. At the time, she felt that one of the biggest problems facing the elderly was loneliness.

Today, the Second Mile Club has developed into a multicultural community care organization, spread over five locations, focused on to the enhancement of the social, intellectual and physical well-being of seniors, and adults living with disabilities.

Who was Eunice Dyke?

Eunice H. Dyke, 1909

Eunice Henrietta Dyke was born in 1883 and was a public health nurse specializing in communicable diseases, especially tuberculosis. As a nursing student, Eunice had her first experience with tuberculosis when she stayed at the Muskoka Sanatorium as a patient. She went on to graduate from the Johns Hopkins Training School for Nurses. Dr. Charles John Oliver Hastings became the Medical Officer for Health and recognized the need for action on communicable diseases and sanitation at the time.

In 1911, Eunice was appointed as a public health nurse in charge of Tuberculosis care, after understanding its consequences first hand. As the department grew, she focused on issues of child welfare and family. Eunice became the first Superintendent of Public Health Nurses in the Toronto Department of Public Health. In later years, she also became an advocate for the health and welfare of the aging population.

Step by Step

Eunice saw the need for a place for the elderly. She needed help to start the Second Mile Club and she persuaded the Toronto Business and Professional Women’s Club to help her. The first Second Mile meetings took place in private homes. Eunice managed to get the Toronto Star publisher, Joseph Atkinson to donate ferry and streetcar tickets. She started taking some of the seniors to the Toronto Islands for weekly picnics.

192 Carlton St, The First Second Mile Club Branch.

By 1947, the club grew to 2000 members. Eunice persuaded the City of Toronto to purchase the first location for the club at 192 Carlton St. The City leased it to the Second Mile Club for $1 a year. Members came to the club for group singing, crafts and shared dinners. In 1950, the club opened its second branch in another city-owned facility and established an aquatics program. By 1987, enhanced their focus on providing multicultural services by starting a Chinese program at the Edward St. location.

Second Mile Club today

Today the Second Mile Club is spread over five locations and continues to promote activities for seniors that include line dancing, art classes, computer classes, and board games. The headquarters are located at Kensington Gardens, 25 Brunswick Avenue.

Second Mile Club also offers many community support services. These services include weekly social dining at Kensington Gardens, which offers a warm meal in a family-like setting. A team of volunteers acts as friendly visitors to the home and provides warmth, care and home help, such as grocery shopping and cleaning. The telephone reassurance program or a visit from a case manager are provided to those who need it, and free caregiver support is also available.

Volunteers have truly helped make the Second Mile Club into what it is today. The caring community offers older citizens opportunities to continue to their enjoy lives, with flexible programs that offer members the services they want and need.

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We are a group of non-profit charitable corporations
making a significant contribution to health care
in Ontario. We’ve served the Toronto
community since 1953 and continue to place
quality of life, family wellness, community
involvement and living with dignity at the
forefront of our vision.